All Good Things Ep 15: Monkey Kombat
by Jurnee Jakes
Summary: He's repelled an alien invasion, defeated giant cybertronic robots armed with state of the art weapons, and even brought the love of his life back from the dead, but can Ron defend his title as the Ultimate Monkey Master?
1. Prologue

"Mr. Stoppable, sir? They're ready."

Ron straightened his suit as well as he could and clipped on a tie from the dozens he had been given to choose from for his first Board of Director's meeting. Rufus had always tied his ties for him for formal events and this was one more skill he was found lacking in.

"I'll be right there." he replied nervously to his assistant; a Hawaiian woman named Kalea. He knew very little about her, but then he also knew very little about what he was doing either.

"Just remember the phrases I told you, Mr. Stoppable and you'll do fine." she said with a friendly smile. The woman was probably in her thirties and obviously used to the atmosphere of corporate life.

"What's your angle; Who's baby is that; and I'll buy that." Ron recited. With a confident nod, Kalea left the room and closed the door to leave Ron to compose himself. He had been giddy to find out that his and Kim's financial woes were over, but now that the reality of being a wealthy business mogul that was actually responsible was setting in, his shoulders were feeling quite heavy. Kim had made him promise to continue his college education, and now that he had made a decision to actually know where his money was coming from, his days were rapidly filling with new duties.

Was this Nelson Aeronautics, Buenos Nachos, or some other company that he was meeting today? Since he had began investigating his unintentional business endeavors, he had discovered several more incomes that had been doing just fine without his input.

He took a deep breath and adjusted his glasses. "Time to make history." He opened the door of his empty office to meet dozens of men and women holding microphones to his face and camera flashes that caused his glasses to polarize.

"Mr. Stoppable! Is it true that this is your first board meeting in four years?"

"I uh..."

"It's said that you're one of the richest men in the world, Mr. Stoppable. How does that make you feel?"

"Well, I..."

"The Oh Boyz are topping the charts again, Mr. Stoppable. Being their 'official' manager, do you have anything to say on their behalf?"

"Wha...?"

"Mr. Stoppable, what do you have planned to top your Cold Fusion Reactor invention?"

"Actually, that's..."

"Mr. Stoppable, is it true you also fight crime in addition to running a financial empire? Do you feel this is an original path?"

"I guess I..."

"Do you have another book on the way?"

"Book?"

"It's rumored you're single, Mr. Stoppable! Is this true?"

"What?"

"I'm sure Mr. Stoppable will be happy to answer your questions soon." Kalea said, leading Ron down the hall toward the double doors where he would have his meeting. "For now, he is very busy. Please, Mr. Stoppable, follow me."

Kalea opened both double doors of the conference room and stepped inside, waiting in front of the Board of Directors for Ron to enter. "I'd like to introduce you all to your CEO, Mr. Ronald Stoppable."

Silence filled the room with the exception of a cough from the far end of the lengthy table. "Er... Where is he?" someone finally asked.

Turning to peer out the door, Kalea gasped. The crowd of reporters and the security personnel that had been keeping them back were all lying in the hall unconscious and Ron was nowhere in sight.


	2. Chapter One

Kim let out a relaxed sigh as she sipped at a hot chocolate that she had just settled down on the couch with. There were wedding catalogues strewn about the entire apartment detailing dresses of various styles, decorations, cakes, and even invitations.

The end of the second semester was quickly approaching and as they got Ron's new windfall in order, Kim was eager to get the stress of college life over with in exchange for the stress of putting together a wedding during the summer break. While Ron seemed suddenly hesitant about the ramp up in pace, her mother told her that was completely normal for a groom-to-be.

She curled her bare toes around the edge of the coffee table and smiled. Ron had wanted to go on a spending spree, and Kim had to admit that even she had wanted to call Monique for a weekend outing. But as much as they both wanted to upgrade their lifestyle to something more comfortable and extravagant, Kim had set the wedding at the top of their priority list. She had already shot down Ron's attempt to upgrade his mode of transportation to the Hatchet super cycle that Motor Ed had tried to steal last year.

"Kimberly-Anne Stoppable." she said to herself with a childish grin, playing with the words on her lips. It wasn't something she thought she'd ever hear even five years ago.

"Speaking of..." she suddenly added, looking up at the clock on the wall. "Where are you, Ron?"

She checked her new wrist Kimmunicator and activated the tracking system. She had gotten Wade to build in a two way transceiver between hers and Ron's glasses that either person could track the other. Her tiny screen zoomed out several levels before pinpointing Ron's location over the Pacific ocean. "Ron!" she growled, her mind instantly leaping to the notion that he had decided to take a spur of the moment flight somewhere.

She touched another button that called Wade. "Wade, I need a..." The sound of a young teenaged girl's giggles suddenly silenced. "Joss?"

"He-hey cuz." Joss said, wiping her mouth with a thumb.

Wade sat up with a dazed look on his lipstick strewn face before shaking his head and looking ready for business. "What's shaking, Kim?"

"You tell me." she replied, glaring.

"Uh... Nothing."

"Nothing?" Joss exclaimed, looking angry.

"Uh..."

"Whatever." Kim interjected, knowing her little cousin was responsible enough to know right from wrong. "Have you heard from Ron? My Kimmunicator is saying he's halfway over the ocean."

"Just a sec." Wade said as Joss left the view of his webcam. "Uh oh."

"Here we go..."

"Just got news that there's been a complete media blackout of the meeting he had today. Seems Ron's uhm... vanished. No witnesses."

"Swell." Kim growled. "Set me up with a flight to intercept. Whether he turned tail or he's been captured, he's in trouble." she said, narrowing her eyes.

* * *

"You are a very busy man, Mr. Stoppable." said an Asian man with a seemingly friendly, if deep voice. "You are very difficult to get close to."

Ron had just woken up from a pin prick in the neck an unknown amount of time ago. His head was aching, as were his muscles; and he had to struggle to sit up on what he guessed was a bench. A cloth bag had been placed over his head and his hands were bound behind his back.

"Hey, I know that voice! You're..." Suddenly, the bag was pulled off and Ron blinked a few times to focus on his captor. He was certainly an Asian man, no older than Ron and wearing a cocky smile that didn't quite go with his ninja gi. Well styled black hair adorned his head and he wore a katana on his back. "Hirotaka? Huh. I was thinking of someone else."

"Stoppable-san!" came a far more familiar voice that brought a smile to Ron's face.

"Yori!" he said, nearly shouting as the young Asian woman entered the room through a small doorway. "What's going on? What happened to my meeting?"

"I am sorry, Stoppable-san. Master Sensei has requested your assistance in a matter involving the Mystical Monkey Power. We tried to contact you, however we were only able to speak to a Ms. Kalea. She said we would have to wait at least three months for an appointment. I am afraid that we cannot wait."

"Well okay. Give me the rundown." Ron said, trying to move. "Uhm, could someone take off the cuffs first?" he asked, turning slightly to brandish his bound wrists.

Hirotaka stood and revealed what appeared to be a skeleton key as he unlocked the ancient looking cuffs. "My apologies, my friend. We had to move quickly to avoid detection by the masses around you. We could not waste time trying to convince you to join us."

"Are you kidding?" Ron said excitedly. "I was not looking forward to that meeting! I'm not even sure where I was, actually. Do either of you know anything about a book? Hey, where's Kim?"

"Is he always like this?" Hirotaka asked when Ron stopped his seemingly random questions.

She nodded. "Stoppable-San's American style buffoonery is an endless source of amusement." she replied before turning back to Ron. "Your questions will be answered shortly. Please, enjoy a refreshment until we reach Master Sensei."

Ron yelped in surprise as a black clad ninja seemed to phase out of the minority of shadows in the room to hand him a bottled water and a package of peanuts. "In flight peanuts? But that could only mean..."

He turned to peer out the dark window of the room to see the moon reflecting off of the ocean far below. "Oh, I am going to be in so much trouble..."

* * *

The Master Sensei stood in the courtyard of the school of Ninjitsu high atop Mount Yamanouchi. He was the first and last of a great clan of protectors trained in the art of the Ninja that had guarded the Eastern world for hundreds of years. But time was catching up to him now that a new warrior had been chosen, and he was growing tired.

He watched the dark clouds beginning to subtly descend around the mountain as the faintest sound of a pair of his most highly trained Ninja approached him from the gate of the school. They were coupled with the clumsy shuffling footsteps of a familiar and dear friend. "I am glad you were able to join me, young Stoppable-San."

"Sensei-Dude-Sir." Ron said as greeting, bowing in respect before sharing a fist bump with the Ninja master. "So what do you need with a warrior hero? Oh, that reminds me; have you guys got a payphone or something here yet? I should really be calling Kim..."

"I'm afraid that the destiny you are about to face must be done by the Monkey Master alone."

"Wait, what?" Ron asked, now confused more than ever. "I thought I fulfilled my destiny already? Can't a guy catch a break?"

"The destiny of the Monkey Master is continuous. It is time for you to claim your title, Stoppable-San." Sensei said as the clouds grew darker, thick and heavy. "There is a tournament that is only open to the holders of mystical power. Those that win gain glory through the ages."

"And those that lose?"

"Lose everything." Sensei warned, the dark cloud growing thick enough to obscure the buildings around them.

"Well then, it's been real visiting and all, but I've really got to be getting home. To be honest, all this new found attention in business has really given me my fill of glory for the moment." he replied, turning away. "Let me know when this tournament thing comes around again."

Ron stood staring into the dark clouds, unable to see more than a few feet around him. He waved his arms in an attempt to move the fog away, but it swirled and continued to engulf him. "Yori? Hiro?" he called before bumping accidentally into Sensei again. "Could you, uhm, point me back to the bridge?"

"If you do not fight, Stoppable-San; our world will fall." the man said.

Ron heaved a sigh and rubbed his eyes. "Ugh! This Ninja stuff is always so mysterious! Never do I just get a letter in the mail or a phone call as an invite. It's always kidnapping or fake student exchanges, or here's a baby sister who just happens to be destined to fight a mystical entity!"

As Ron stood silently still with his head lowered and his shoulder's slumped, the dark clouds that surrounded him and Sensei began to lighten and part. "I mean, I've got finals coming up, a sudden financial empire to take care of, and a wedding in a couple months that wasn't supposed to be until next year when it's safe! Now, everything's happening just like Hana said because I couldn't bear to tell Kim I wanted to wait! So in addition to somehow figuring out how to stay alive at my own wedding and keep Kim from losing everything she's ever cared about, I have to participate in a super powered duel over the fate of the planet?"

Sensei nodded.

"That's a lot to put on a guy all at once."

"Indeed." Sensei said, turning to walk away through the fading fog. "Your responsibilities as the Monkey Master will be many."

"Hey! Wait up!" Ron shouted as Sensei began to disappear. As he ran through the fog, the light that was beginning to shine through became blinding and Ron held up a hand to see past the glare. "Sensei?"

Ron stood on what seemed like the same plateau at the top of Mount Yamanouchi, but the Japanese style buildings of the school were gone, replaced by ancient looking spires of various cultures that reached high into the clouds. Many of the buildings in the distance were made of some sort of glass or multicolored crystal, while others that stood upon the same plateau as him appeared to be constructed of an assortment of rock such as jade and marble.

Granite statues of all kinds of creatures, both recognizable and not, were strewn about the large mountain top and were all carved with sinister and fierce expressions that put Ron on edge. They seemed to be guarding a very old, yet surprisingly sturdy looking rope bridge with heavy bricks lining its walkway that led to the crystal towers.

"I am definitely not in Japan anymore."


	3. Chapter Two

As Ron reached the other end of the rope and stone bridge that brought him to a more expansive plateau, his eyes widened at the obsidian castle that stood before him. The building's massive black double doors were splayed open and dozens of people of apparently all walks of life were lined up to enter.

Most of the individuals in the line up were extraordinarily buff in some way. Tall, muscular, beautiful people that made Ron feel very out of place. As though to emphasize his feeling, a large strong hand was suddenly placed on his shoulder. "Mr. Stoppable. Am I ever glad to see a familiar face."

Ron nearly jumped out of his business suit at the sound of the familiar deep voice. "Gah! Hego? What are you doing here?" he asked the hulking superhero. The Team Go leader was dressed in his Buenos Nachos managerial uniform, complete with glasses and clip-on tie, and looking uncharacteristically uncertain. "I kinda thought this was only for mystical Kung Fu type people."

"Admitedly, I'm afraid that the invitation that appeared at the GO Tower was adressed to Shego. While I would certainly never commit such a felony as to open someone else's mail, Mego was a bit more curious than I." Hego began, moving along with Ron and the rest of the line as it continued forward. "As he began to read the mystical letter aloud, the words 'Fate of the World' caught my attention and I accepted the burden on myself since Shego has gone missing. Next thing I knew, I was here."

"Wait... Shego was invited? And you have no idea what you're doing here?"

"Shego was a practitioner of what's known as Tiger Kung Fu. Early on in our super hero careers, she felt it would be wise to learn to defend ourselves without our GO Team Glow."

"Tiger Kung Fu?" Ron asked. "Oh! That probably came in handy with the glowing claws... I think Kim knows some of that."

"Anyway, with my super strength, I didn't really feel it was necessary."

"And now you're here in a mystical martial arts tournament fighting for the fate of the world and you don't know any martial arts?"

"The irony isn't lost on me." Hego replied, crossing his massive arms over his chest.

Before Ron could reply, the line had moved ahead enough that he was at the large double doors of the black palace. "State your name and totem." commanded a gravelly voice that emanated from a nine foot tall suit of black armor. Standing next to the double doors and holding a wicked looking serrated pike, the suit of armor was certlainly meant to intimidate.

"Wha?" Ron asked, feeling suddenly small as he looked up from the suit's armored abdomen and into it's red glowing slitted faceplate.

The suit suddenly became animated, looking down at Ron's meager figure. "Name and totem!" it shouted, leveling it's pike. "Do you think that you are the only one here with mystical abilities?"

Ron shrugged. Other than a few scientific abnormalities, primarily Team Go and their villains, he had never heard of anyone else with mystical abilities similar to his.

The towering gaurd pointed past the doors into the palace at various individuals. First was a very large man in a black Ninja uniform that Ron recognized as one of Drakken's henchmen from his Diablo plot. Their eyes met and the sumo Ninja glared at him with familiarity, causing Ron to swallow in worry.

Next, the gaurd pointed to a Japanese woman in her early twenties with shoulder length hair and a red band that kept it out of her face. She was lithe, and reminded Ron of what Yori would probably look like in a few years of continued Ninja training.

Finally, the gaurd pointed to a caucassian man with long straggly hair, tiny round glasses, and a dazed look to his face that made him appear very out of place. "The Bear, the Crane, the Beetle..." the gaurdsman said as he gestured to each individual. "All are here to represent their totem!"

Suddenly, realization came and Ron's eyes widened. "I guess I'm representing the Monkey, then."

"Name?"

"Uh, Ron. Ron Stoppable?"

"Very well, Ron Ron. Enter, and may you bring glory to our Master!"

"No, it's just one..."

"ENTER!"

Ron frowned and hurried into the crowd of tournament fighters. He was easily the smallest person here and was feeling as out of place as he ever had. "Excuse me..." he said, although his voice couldn't overcome the raucus that had filled the hallway. "I'd like to get by now!" he insisted, nearly getting moshed.

Without warning, he was lifted off of his feet and pulled face to face by the sumo Ninja. "This will be my vengeance!" he shrilled in a high pitched voice, beginning to crush Ron in a massive bear hug.

Ron's aura flared to life instantly and he grasped the Ninja's gi and flipped the huge man over his shoulder to land with a ground shaking thud. Dropping to the floor, Ron spun to face his adversary, who leapt to his feet in an impossible looking kip-up.

"Are you blind?" Ron grinned as the Sumo Ninja planted his feet, creating broken indentations in the floor. "I've got mad Monkey Powers now, dude!" he continued, crouching low in preparation for the Sumo Ninja's attack.

But his mouth gaped open in surprise as the Sumo Ninja's eyes squinted nearly shut, glowing a deep purple as though filled with black light. A matching purple aura enveloped him as a massive roar filled the hall and he clapped his hands together, emitting a shockwave that knocked the crowd around them back several feet.

Ron leaned into the blast, but even he slid back and gasped as the Sumo Ninja leaped forward like a lumbering bear, pounding his fists into the floor where Ron had been a moment before, leaving five claw like gouges in the marble.

Ron had backflipped out of reach of the Sumo Ninja, watching as one of the suits of black armor pushed it's way through the crowd of fighters. Twirling it's pike, the suit jabbed the Sumo Ninja in the back with the blunt end of the weapon, causing bolts of mystical energy to wrap around him. The Ninja's aura faded and he convulsed in agony before dropping to his hands and knees.

"How ya like me now?" Ron exclaimed. He couldn't help but chuckle at the man's misfortune until he felt the same shock in his own back. The pain was excruciating, and sent Ron down to his hands and knees as well, letting out a shout of both surprise and pain through clenched teeth before he nearly wet himself.

"No powers outside of the arenas!" the towering suit of black armor shouted, gesturing to the entire crowd as Ron continued to writhe on the floor.

"Noted..."

Kim landed on both feet and rolled forward with the impact, rising smoothly and disconnecting her parachute harness all in one motion before dumping her helmet in the courtyard of the Yamanouchi Ninja School. Instantly, she was surrounded by a dozen white hooded Ninja armed with bo staff pointed at her jaw line. Their effort of intimidation was wasteful however as Kim glared around at her ambushers with annoyance more than fear. "Where's Ron?"

"Stoppable-San is not here." said one of the Ninja; a man's voice that Kim didn't recognize.

With startling reflexes, Kim brought a leg up and brought it down on the young man's weapon, snapping it in two and rolling away, out of the circle. Catching the spinning half length of the staff as it descended, she blocked an attack against her back, then another that came toward her chest before begining an assortment of handsprings over several more ninja.

Using her momentum, Kim rebounded off of a wooden pillar that appeared to be used for a training excersise, spinning in a wide arc that allowed her boot to catch three of her pursuers across the cheek and sending them sprawling. As more charged toward her, she planted the blunt end of the broken staff into a ninja's chest, then kicked it up into his chin with a resounding thud that caused him to go sliding past her. The next attempted a jump kick, using his staff as a pole vault that Kim kicked out from under him, sending the masked man into the pillar behind her.

The remaining eight stood back in preparation for Kim's attack. She dropped the broken staff and frowned. "Look, I know Ron came here. Where is he?"

"You have your answer." said another ninja as two of them began twirling their staves around themselves. The six warriors behind them unsheathed short curved blades from their belts and began moving in slowly.

The first staff weilder attacked, leaping and bringing the staff down in a strike that had enough force to flex the long wooden pole. Kim ground her teeth and raised her hands as the bo shattered across her forearms. Grunting against the flash of pain, Kim snapped a fist out, catching the shocked Ninja square in the nose with a closed fist. The next staff weilder lunged toward her as well and she drew her grapple gun with her other hand, firing the cable through her attacker's spinning shield. The bo staff was quickly tangled into the thin steel cable and bound the Ninja's wrists before he could escape.

With a very un-Ninja like battlecry, the remaining warriors charged forward with their swords raised. The first one sliced the grapple cable at the tools launch port. The next leaped over his companion, slashing at Kim's head. Performing a backward hand spring, she kicked both of them away before gaining some distance from her remaining attackers.

Kim landed the series of handsprings with a smile and a flourish, but the Ninjas were unimpressed. The lead warrior shouldered her to the ground and raised his blade over his head to strike. Raising her foot, the blade came down on the sole of her boot and Kim could feel the impact on the steel shank less than an inch from her foot.

"Aw man! So much for the waterproofing." Kim growled, bringing her other boot up into the man's midsection, resulting in a muffled groan.

She pushed him off and jumped to her feet a moment before the remaining three Ninja began slashing at her. She dived past them, feeling the breeze of the swishing weapons in her hair before snatching the severed end of her grapple line off of the ground and violently pulling the Ninja still bound by the wrists forward, putting her elbow out that connected with the man's jaw line.

The hit knocked the warrior unconscious and Kim unravelled the grapple line from his wrists as she ducked on oncoming blade while simultaneously diving over the other. She struck the ground and rolled away in the dust, eyeing her targets through her thick red hair. Retreating in a flurry of twists, leans, and dodges, Kim wrapped the thin cable around herself until it appeared that she was bound.

The three Ninja stopped, their blades raised and ready as Kim glared back at them. "One last chance." she said, full of confidence. "Where's Ron?"

The men looked at each other, a hint of confusion and arrogance showing in their eyes. "He is no longer in this world." one said in all seriousness.

"So not what I wanted to hear." Kim let out in a hiss. Like a spring, her grappling cable unwound. The hook struck the middle ninja in the forehead with a loud, if dull 'ping!' and she yanked the cable back, forcing it to wrap around one ninja's neck and the weighted hook continued it's centrifugal path, striking the third.

Again Kim pulled on the cable, forcing the hook back the way it came. The second Ninja spun to the ground, gagging as the other two writhed in the dust, groaning and holding their foreheads. Kim twisted, spun, and wound the cable around her body again, waiting for another attack. But all that remained were two figures, one short and stout, the other lithe and female, standing side by side before the double sliding doors of the Yamanouchi Schools dojo.

"Where's Ron?" Kim called, still breathing heavily.

Instead of a reply, the Master Sensei and his star pupil, Yori, retreated into the building, silently beckoning her to follow. Making certain that her attackers weren't going to pursue her, Kim sloughed off the grapple cable and cautiously made her way to the dojo, sliding the door quietly closed behind her.

In the center of the expansive room sat both individuals in lotus positions with an extra sitting rug across from Yori, who gestured for her to sit. Knowing better than to hurry the ninja mysticism along, Kim followed direction, waiting for one of them to speak.

"Hirotaka will be most displeased that he and his students were of no match for you Ms. Possible." Sensei stated as she had begun taking in a breath to speak.

"Hiro...?" she began, suddenly surprised. When she had sparred for a few moment back in tenth grade, he had easily been her equal in the Mantis style of Kung Fu. Had she really learned so much since then? Or did she simply have more to fight for this time.

"You have done them a great honor, Kim Possible. They will learn, and grow stronger." Yori assured her.

Kim shook her head in frustration. "Okay, that's, uh, good for them and all but I'm really just here looking for Ron. Wade tracked him here, and I want to know why he just up and left without telling me."

"Stoppable-San has been summoned to fulfill his destiny as the Monkey Master." Sensei stated, being as cryptic as Kim could imagine.

"But what does that mean?" she asked, trying to hold on to her patience.

For a long moment, the trio sat in silence; the only movement being Sensei's long white beard, as though he was struggling with a decision. "Stoppable-San has joined a very important tournament that will decide the fate of our world. Only the Chosen Ones may join."

"Chosen Ones?"

"Those that have attained mystical powers by being chosen by the spirits." Yori explained.

"So... everyone in this tournament has powers like Ron?"

Sensei nodded.

Kim thought about this for a moment, looking down at the bamboo floor of the dojo. From what she understood of Ron's Mystical Monkey Powers, the Kung Fu that he had wrestled with mastering since being subjected to the jade monkeys in Monkey Fist's castle had simply been downloaded into him. Other than the Jackal, he had never faced another mystically powered opponent, and that hadn't ended well.

"How do I get there?" she asked, turning to face Sensei once more.

Yori seemed confused. "As Sensei has said, only the Chosen Ones may join the Tournament."

"Well who decides who's a Chosen One?" Kim snapped back.

Yori frowned at Kim's sudden outburst, and clearly didn't have an answer for her. With an aging unsteadiness, the Master Sensei rose to his feet, placing his hands back in his opposing sleeves. "The only way for an uninvited guest to enter the Tournament is with a key."

Yori stood to follow and Kim looked up at them both. "Where do I find this key?" she asked, slowly climbing to her feet.

"Stoppable-San has had the good fortune of keeping it close to his heart." the elderly man said before disappearing deeper into the dojo as Kim watched after them, more confused than ever.


	4. Chapter Three

Ron stood in a large room made of glass, with walls and a ceiling that seemed to have been blown in one attempt. It was nearly impossible to see any corners or holes in the surfaces and the glass elevator that had brought him here had left. There was no running.

Across the room from him stood a caucassian women a few years older than he was. While he had been able to change into a more comfortable gi, his opponent was still wearing a stiff militaristic black uniform and waited stock still with her hands behind her back.

Ron hopped from either foot, keeping mobile and trying to warm up. His bare feet squeaked on the glass floor as he performed a series of clumsy looking hand stands and flips. "Are you going to fight or tie yourself up in knots?" the woman asked in a thick Russian accent.

"What?" Ron asked, suddenly stopping his kata. "I was expecting some kind of buzzer, or..."

The woman suddenly lit up in a hazy greenish red aura, surging forward in a series of teleports that caused Ron to shout out in surprise. His own blue aura blazed to life before she struck him in the sternum with a straight fingered jab. The force of the blow sent him reeling backward and the woman 'blinked' forward again, catching him on the back of the neck with an outstretched arm that spun him face first onto the glass floor.

"Ow! How did you..." Ron cried out in a muffled complaint. Without his Stone Monkey aura, he was certain he would have been killed by the first strike. Before he had time to consider what she might do next, she landed a kick in his midsection that flung him into the air. She then seemed to teleport again in order to appear above him with a drop kick then sent him back down onto the floor with enough force to leave a fractured crack in the glassy surface.

Filling what little space was left in his lungs with air, Ron reflexively rolled to the side as the woman appeared where he had landed, her knee carving out a small crater in the floor. He jumped to a standing position, keeping his arms moving fluidly while his feet found purchase on the slick floor.

The woman smiled. "Ah, you follow the Way of the Monkey. This should be easy." she said, crouching with one leg extended forward and her hands bent in a snake-like form.

"Name's Stoppable. Ron. And you are?" he asked, continuing to shift in an unpredictable motion.

"I am the Viper. Names mean nothing here." the woman replied, remaining stock still except for her head, which followed Ron's every move. "Because once I win, yours will no longer matter."

"We'll see. Whau!" Ron shouted, his constant motion allowing him to attack seamlessly from his kata.

* * *

Hego dropped into a cavern lit by a double rainbow of colored crystals that were jutting out from the walls and forming pillars and stalactites. Now dressed in his blue and black Team Go tights and mask, he crept slowly through the crystalline cavern. Unfortunately, stealth had never been his strongest suit. That particular skill had always favored Mego, who could shrink to mouse size and make very little noise. Since he was the largest and strongest, the straight forward, brute force approach was more to his liking; although ending this battle peacefully would be ideal.

Suddenly, a deep voice echoed through the tunnels that sent a shiver through his spine. It dripped of evil, and announced "Tiger versus Mantis." before the area grew quiet again.

Hego stood tall, looking for where the voice had come from. "Actually, I'm not here to compete in your Fight Club. I'm here to make certain that my world is safe. If you would kindly point me in the direction of the danger, I will gladly be on my way."

"I'm afraid there is no way to save your world, except by defeating the Tournament Keeper." said a very deep voice that caused Hego to spin in place. Standing before him and easily matching his height was a midnight toned man in shimmering clothing covered in shiny plates that resembled giant insect shells.

"And you are?" Hego asked, striking his usual heroic pose with his fists on his hips.

"I am the Mantis." the man said with a scowl, pressing his fingertips together. "Which would make you the Tiger."

"Uhm, no. Actually, I'm really just filling in for..." Hego began, but he was cut off by Mantis's attack. He tried to block out of reflex, but Mantis' strike hooked around his forearms, batting them away as though he was a child. Hego choked as Mantis' other hand went straight for his throat, clenching tightly around his Adams Apple.

Panicking, Hego lifted both of his massive arms and summoned his bluish black glow, swatting Mantis away and stumbling backward as he held his throat. It had been quite some time since he had felt actual pain. Not since Aviarius had stolen his powers and he and his family had very nearly been defeated.

He searched the crystalline room he was in for Mantis but couldn't see him. The speed and strength of the man had surprised him, and Hego put his back to a wall, trying to get his breathing under control.

Without warning, Mantis seemed to materialize from the background, weaving his hands around Hego's bulky form with sharp chops that were having no difficulty finding purchase on his neck and face. Suddenly, Hego found himself on his back after a near invisible leg sweep. The impact of his fall sent rippling cracks through the crystal floor around him, breaking off shards of jewels that scattered about, emphasizing Mantis' deep evil laugh.

Hego leaped to his feet again, his frustration growing as he searched for his opponent. "We should combine forces to defeat this Tournament Keeper." he said, squinting at the mezmerizing tunnels of crystals. "He is obviously an evil being for making innnocent people battle each other."

Suddenly, Mantis struck from the walls where he had simply been standing, lashing out with steel like limbs that were hooking Hego's defensive blocks and batting them aside. With a smooth motion, Mantis entwined one arm around Hego's and lifted him off of his feet to toss him against the crystalline wall.

"No one invited here is innocent. We are here because we have shown that we are willing to do whatever is required for our personal ambitions. Your friend is no different." Mantis explained. "From what I understand, he murdered two foreign strangers."

Hego lifted himself to his feet. He could remember trying to battle Kim Possible when he was under Electronique's control and his great strength was nearly useless against her martial arts. This man however, seemed to have more strength than she did, and far greater reach.

"If you're referring to the pair of alien warlords that came to invade our planet, then I would have to inform you that Mr. Stoppable was only acting in defence. Not maliciousness." Hego replied, dusting himself off. "As am I."

"Call it what you wish." Mantis said. He crouched slightly, stretching out a hooked hand, and keeping his other arm close to his body. "I will not delude myself away from what needs done."

The pair charged at each other, Mantis blocking Hego's super powered blows with growing difficulty, and Hego bringing both fists against his opponent; shattering pillars with each near miss. Clasping his hands together, Hego charged his glowing fists and brought them down on Mantis' defending arms. Mantis skillfully deflected the attack into the floor however, and spun, catching Hego across the cheek with a backhand before skirting away.

Hego brought a hand up to his face, wiping away the trickle of blood that had suddenly appeared at the corner of his mouth. While Go City had it's share of powerful villains, it had been ages since he had suffered a powerful enough attack that could make him bleed. It meant that this battle would take more strategy than simply avoiding collateral damage.

He stomped forward, raising his fists in an attempt to knock Mantis off of his feet. Mantis sidestepped one hit, blocked the other, and attempted to drive a flattened hand into Hego's midsection. As Mantis' scaled fingernails tore through his black and blue Team Go uniform, Hego caught his arm and lifted him off of his feet to throw him into a crystal pillar, shattering it as he carried on to slide along the floor.

"You villains never seem to learn that goodness and hope will always triumph over evil and despair." Hego said, cautiously moving toward Mantis.

Scooping up a handful of crystal slivers, Mantis tossed them into Hego's face and rolled to his feet. As Hego turned away, Mantis leaped high, bringing a claw shaped hand down at Hego's neck. The larger man leaned back with surprising agility as Mantis swept an arm past his face.

As Mantis followed through, Hego stood straight again and clasped a hand around Mantis' neck, lifting him off of the floor in an effort to subdue him. Mantis gasped in surprise, then lifted his knees to push himself out of Hego's grasp, backflipping away before sliding across the floor in a crouch. Before Mantis could regain his footing, Hego punched the floor, the blue glow around his hands surging brightly as the crystals surrounding him ruptured and exploded in a shockwave that covered Mantis in broken shards.

"I'm not here to fight you, or anyone. I am only here to defend my world. I'm sure if we were to all join forces, this Tournament Keeper would have no choice but to rethink why we are all here." Hego said as Mantis tiredly climbed back up to his feet.

Mantis looked around at the multifaceted walls and in each surface was the reflection of a hooded man in a long robe. "Only one may pass on to the next stage of the tournament." the hooded man's words echoed through the chamber. "One must finish the other."

"That seems a bit barbaric, doesn't it?" Hego asked aloud. With a gasping breath, Mantis ground his teeth before letting out a rage filled shout. His eyes became solid black and the chitin like armor he wore began to grow long wicked spines. He reached out one hand like a claw and Hego turned in surprise to see the ghostly image of a giant praying mantis behind him, clutching one of his shoulders in one of it's massive claws. Then Mantis reached his other hand forward and before Hego could react, the shimmering insect snatched his other shoulder.

"You lose!" Mantis shouted, pulling his hands apart.

* * *

Ron seemed completely devoid of inertia as he moved this way and that, never ending up where Viper was expecting him to be after she teleported. Even his attacks were unpredictable, though not flawless. His constant moving was tiring him, though not as quickly as his opponent's teleportation ability.

They were both lying on the floor of their arena, which was now pockmarked with cracks and shatter points, only a few feet away and glaring at each other, breathing heavily. "You fight well... for a monkey."

"Thanks... thank you." Ron replied, trying and failing to climb to his feet. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Why not?" she shrugged.

"Do you even know what we're fighting for?" Ron asked, finally managing to stand on his shaky legs. "I mean, I know the official story. About fighting to save our world, but I'm human. You're... obviously human. Aren't we fighting for the same world?" he said, offering his hand to help Viper to her feet.

She looked at Ron's hand suspiciously, then up into his eyes. To her surprise, she only saw genuine compassion. Something she would never have expected in a warrior. She took his hand and climbed to her feet, breathing in a chest full of air before raising her arms defensively. "You think that the world that was spoken of is your planet?" Viper asked, her accent vanishing. "No. It is YOUR world that will be lost."

"I don't get it." Ron admitted, frowning down at Viper's fists. "My world?"

"Here, we are out of time. If you lose here, you and everything you have ever done will be erased. Everyone you have ever known or loved will cease to have ever been affected by you." she smiled. "You are not fighting for your life. You are fighting for your existence. You must prove that you are worthy to carry the power you have been given, and be the only one to carry it."

"That... that's messed up."

"The truth often is."

"So now what? I mean, what about Kim? If I lose, what will happen to her?"

Viper shrugged. "It does not matter. If you lose, she will never have known you. If you win, then you win. Simple."

"No! Not simple!" Ron cried. "This is so not simple!"

Suddenly, in each facet of their glass arena, the image of a hooded man appeared, his face obscured in darkness. "Only one may pass on to the next stage of the tournament. One must finish the other."

"You heard him." Viper said. "Go."

"What? No! You don't..." Ron began as Viper began laying into him with long, fast attacks. "Understand!"

Both combatants were too exhausted to conjure their totem powers, and even their unaided skills were slowed and weak. "I understand..." Viper said, striking at Ron's eyes with a claw-like hand. "That I want to exist!"

Ron raised a hand to block Viper's fingers and kicked a leg out, pressing his foot into her ribs and knocking her away. "But what about all the times I helped Kim save the world? If I never existed..."

Viper stumbled back, holding her side. "I don't know this Kim person. She will have never known you. It won't matter."

Ron had gone through many years believing that he did very little to really help Kim save the world, even hindering her most of the time. But the past three years, ever since they had begun their 'more than friends' relationship, she had nurtured and grown his confidence to the point that he now knew how much he meant to her.

"Kim. Kim Possible." he said, catching his breath. "She... we save the world. Frequently."

Viper nodded. "This Kim, I have heard of."

"And I'm Ron Stoppable! The side..."

"You're the fiance?"

"Only one may pass on to the next stage of the tournament. One must finish the other." the hooded figure said again with more urgency from the glassy walls.

Ron blushed, but nodded. "Yeah. I guess I am."

Viper looked down at her hands with a frown. "She saved my town from an army of radioactive boars. Before I had gained my powers."

"And I was there too!" Ron insisted, thinking back and remembering bits and pieces of such a mission, before they had even faced Drakken and Shego. The fact that he had been the one to accidentally let them all loose from that research laboratory was going to remain silent.

"Only one may pass on to the next stage of the tournament. One must finish the other." the hooded figure shouted, his voice taking on a slight accent and higher pitch.

"I yield." Viper said, visibly shaking. "You had better be telling the truth, Monkey. And don't expect anyone else to do the same as I have."

"But..."

"Us Russians have known much sacrifice." she said sadly. "Do not make mine in vain." For a long moment, Viper looked into Ron's brown eyes. "I yield."

The hooded man's voice became a sort of whiney growl and he vanished, with Viper disappearing a moment after. Ron fell to his knees in a daze, the effects of the tournament and what Viper had just done, jumbling together in his mind. He closed his eyes and beat his fists on the floor in frustration as two of the massive gaurdsmen appeared, dragging him back into the glass elevator that he had arrived in. Before long, he found himself in the tiny dorm room he had been assigned to.

"Hego?" he called, climbing off of his bed and racing out the door. "Dude, we have got to get out of here!" He ran down the hall to Hego's room to find it empty. "Hego?"

"He's gone." said a tall, dark skinned man wearing what looked like giant insect shells as armor. "He lost."

"He... lost?" Ron said in disbelief. "But how..."

"I beat him." Mantis sneered, continuing his walk past Ron.

"But... I can still remember him, so he must have existed!"

Mantis turned to face him again, a grin pulling at his lips. "Ah, so you know the consequences of the tournament! But were you also aware that there is a loop hole?"

"Loop hole?" Ron exclaimed, wanting desperately to call on every pixel of Monkey Powers that he could. "What loop hole?"

"The point of the tournament is to leave only one being of power standing. If you die... you will still have existed."

Ron was about to be sick. His knees gave out and he collapsed to the floor, his eyes and mouth watering and his body chilling with sweat. "You killed... killed him?"

"I did." Mantis admitted casually. "If you want your revenge, meet me in the arena." he continued, walking away to leave Ron on the floor. "I look forward to killing you soon."


	5. Chapter Four

Kim sat in the living room of her and Ron's apartment. Her hair was dishevelled and she had uncharacteristic dark rings beneath her eyes that betrayed her lack of sleep from her flight to and from Japan, as well as her frantic search through Ron's belongings for the last day and a half. Her search through the apartment for something Ron 'kept close to his heart' hadn't turned up any answers for her.

At first, Kim thought Yori had been referring to her; then came to the conclusion that perhaps Yori had been referring to herself and couldn't help feeling a twinge of jealousy. But no. Kim had discounted both of these ideas as either arrogant and petty.

She imagined Rufus could fit what Yori described; he had Mystical Monkey Powers as well afterall, but trying to find a naked mole rat in Africa seemed more like a last resort situation.

Kim stood and began pacing. "Close to Ron's heart. Literally or figuratively? A necklace, maybe? Wade's tracking chip. No, that's no where near his heart."

She stopped pacing for a moment, blankly looking over the mess she had created in the room and running her shaking gloved hands through her hair. "Stoppable-San always kept it close to his heart." she repeated. "Always? Buenos Nachos?" she asked the room. "We've been going there since Pre-K. Maybe there's some ancient mystical Kung Fu secret key... in an American based, Mexican Fast Food restaurant." she said, fully aware of the ludicrousness of what she had just said. "Sounds as likely as finding a naked pink rodent with mystical powers out in the desert."

* * *

"Could you pass a napkin?" Sonny Stoppable asked his wife. The Stoppable trio were sitting in a booth in their son's teenaged hangout, Buenos Nachos having lunch and Mr. Stoppable had never gotten quite the hang of eating Mexican food like his son had, and had dropped a mess of beans down his shirt.

Dawna, his wife, passed her short and portly husband the tray of napkins as she was asked, and took one for their three year old adoptive daughter as well. "I miss Ronnie, don't you?" she asked. "This restaurant brings back so many memories."

"Of course I do, dear." Sonny replied, wiping up the mess. His daughter, Hana, giggled at him as she placed a set of toy crystals on the table that Ron had given her before graduating, and continued eating more of her meal. "But he's a grown man now, and a hero in his own right. I'm sure that he's okay."

"He's getting married and he's not even twenty years old!"

"Kim is twenty." Mr. Stoppable said in defense. "Besides, not only will he be twenty in September, but he isn't much younger than we were."

"That was different."

"I know. Ronald was on the way."

Dawna covered her daughter's ears suddenly despite her husband's amused grin. "Sonny!" she exclaimed, then lowered her voice. "How do we know that she isn't... you know..."

"Who?" Sonny asked, pausing in his meal.

"Kim?" Dawna asked in surprise as their soon to be daughter in law suddenly stepped through the restaurants doors, dressed in her purple and black mission uniform.

Sonny lifted an eyebrow in confusion. "What?"

"Mr. And Mrs. Stoppable?" Kim asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?" she asked, walking toward their table.

"In Middleton?" Sonny asked, gulping down the food he was currently chewing. "We live here. What are you doing here, Kim?"

"Where's my Ronnie?" Dawna asked, looking around Kim.

"You don't know?" she asked, confused. "I mean..."

"Know what? Where's my boy?" Dawna asked, her expression suddenly going from one of pleasant surprise to one of worry.

"Kim?" Sonny asked calmly.

"It's all over the news." Kim said in disbelief. "Ron is... missing."

"Missing? How can he be missing?" Ron's mother asked, nearly shouting before turning back to her husband. "I told you we shouldn't have been watching that WebVision!"

"Brother?" Hana asked, looking up at Kim with watery brown eyes.

"He's okay. I know where he is, I just can't... get there." Kim reluctantly admitted. "I'm looking for something. A key. Did Ron ever keep anything close? Something I wouldn't know about?"

The Stoppables seemed to ponder the question for a moment before shaking their heads. "Besides his little mole rat pet and this place, all he REALLY cared about was you."

"And his little sister, of course." Dawna added, holding her adopted daughter close.

Kim forced a smile. "Aw, that's swee..." She looked down into Hana's glimmering eyes. "Could I borrow Hana for just one moment?" she asked with a smile, holding up a finger. If this tournament was all about mystical powers, then it could certainly stand to reason that Hana could have something to do with it.

"What on Earth?" Dawna began to ask before her husband touched her arm.

"It's okay." Kim assured her and knealt down to Hana's eye level. "Hey Hana. Do you know where Ron is, or how to get to him?"

"He's scared." The toddler's eyes shifted to the trio of colored crystals that she had set on the restaurant table and Kim followed her gaze. Within the yellow crystal, she could see Ron confronting a woman dressed in a Russian military uniform. While it was impossible to tell what was being said, it was obvious that they had been fighting, but were now in some form of truce.

"The keys. Kept close to Ron's heart." Kim whispered. "Do you know how to use these?" she asked, trying to hold back her impatience.

"I have to go to the bathroom." Hana said plainly.

"She's potty training." Mrs. Stoppable said, taking her daughter's hand.

Kim suppressed a growl into a sigh and stood. "Of course." She moved to the side to let Hana and her mother pass despite her urge to grill the poor toddler for information. She continued to stand beside the table awkwardly with Mr. Stoppable still in his seat. "So..."

"How are you and Ronald?" he asked, his slow and calm speech mildly putting her at ease. Ever since her and Ron had been forced into spilling the details of their living together to their parents, she had been uneasy around the Stoppables. Perhaps moreso than her often oblivious fiance was around her own parents.

"Good." Kim answered with a nod. "Except for the whole kidnapping thing, of course."

"Of course."

"You guys? How's the actuary business going?"

"Oh, you know. Still plenty of people willing to attach a dollar value to human life."

"That's uhm, good. I guess."

"Kim, as Ronald's father, I'm inclined to ask. Are you..."

"I went poop!" came Hana's loud exclamation that echoed through the restaurant. She was dragging her mother by a thumb out of the senorita's washroom excitedly, then ran to her father to give him a hug.

Kim couldn't help but smile fondly at the girl's cander, but forced herself to interrupt the happy news. "Hana, I need you to tell me how to get to Ron. Will these crystals... these keys get me there?"

Hana nodded. "Ashieving the weapon is your good fotune. Loving the weapon makes it a Stoppable. Imlemening the weapon will bwing victowy."

"Han, I don't understand." Kim said, shaking her head. Hana picked up the three crystals and began to fit them together like a puzzle.

"You will." The long yellow crystal seemingly fuzed to the round blue crystal, and Hana took Kim's hand, completing the crystal loop around her forearm with the flat red crystal. The moment the loop closed around her arm, Kim's vision began to blur and the restaurant around her began to break up and turn to stone and crystal.

"Kimmie?" Mrs. Stoppable called as she pulled her daughter toward herself. Her voice faded in and out as Kim felt herself become enveloped in fog and surrounded by a far more natural environment. Within moments, the Buenos Nachos restaurant was gone and Kim found herself standing on a mountain top plateau with only a stone rope bridge leading into the fog.

"I am definitely not in Middleton anymore."


	6. Chapter Five

Kim was squinting in an attempt to see anything through the fog. All that managed to catch her attention was the silhouette of a large palace. It was shimmering as though it was carved out of black diamonds, and was in the direction that the bridge trailed off in.

"Ron?" she called, hearing nothing but the echo of her own voice. "Ron!" Still nothing.

Kim approached the slightly swaying bridge, and looked down off the side of the plateau. While all that could be seen was more fog; quite possibly clouds, she didn't doubt that wherever she was might not even have a ground level in the traditional sense. She followed the path for nearly an hour, going over numerous bridges and plateaus before the fog cleared and she reached the glittering obsidian palace.

A massive armored guard with a wicked looking pike stood to either side of the large double doors. As she approached, the guards crossed their weapons to block her path. "Name and totem?"

"I'm Kim Possible and I'm looking for Ron Stoppable. I'm guessing that he came through here." Kim explained, crossing her arms. While two, nine foot tall armored pike men would certainly give most people pause on Earth, Kim had come in ready for anything.

"What is your totem?" one guard shouted, the red glowing slit in it's helmet growing brighter.

Kim narrowed her eyes impatiently. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm here to bring Ron Stoppable home."

"Those without a totem are not permitted here!" both guards said, leveling their pikes down at Kim's face.

"I don't need a totem." she replied angrily, pushing the ends of both pikes away with a hand. "I've got the key." she added, holding up the crystal bracelet still on her wrist.

Both guards suddenly hunched down into attack postures. "She possesses the Han! Defend the master!" Kim's eyes widened in surprise as both pikes suddenly came down at her.

"Whoa!" she shouted, backing off in order to stay out of reach of the giants. "I'm just here for Ron!" The first pike came crashing down, cutting a gouge out of the ground where she had been standing.

Before the guardsman could ready his weapon again, Kim surged forward and ran up the shaft of the pike. She flipped over the creatures head to crouch into a ready position, facing her attackers. "So are we going to do this with the clever banter, or without?"

The second guardsman growled, swinging his pike low at Kim's head. She flattened herself on the ground, then rolled to the side as the other guardsman brought his weapon down again, sending rippling shock waves through the marble at their feet.

"Without it is, then." Kim said in answer to her own question. The pair of overgrown pike men creatures were skilled with their weapons and worked well as a team, herding Kim into vulnerable positions for the other to strike. If it wasn't for Kim's petite frame, agility, and the creature's seeming inability to adapt to her multiple forms of martial arts, she'd have been sliced in two by now.

She dived under a swipe, somersaulted over another, and back flipped away, trying to reach the double doors into the palace in order to find a way inside, but the guardsmen were quick to defend their post. As Kim ran toward the door, one of the giant pikes soared just over her head as she slid to a stop at the base of the entrance. The spinning pike became buried up to its hilt in the door, and Kim gasped as he continued charging forward.

Steeling herself, she grabbed the handle of the pike and pulled down on the shaft. Climbing onto it, she spring boarded off and sailed toward the unarmed guardsman with a kick to the helmet that knocked the giant down. Her momentum ended however, and the second guardsman had already been twirling his pike around his waist, and caught Kim in the midsection with the blunt end of his weapon. The force of the strike knocked Kim off of her feet and she slammed into the double doors of the palace, unconscious.

While one guardsman picked himself up and removed his pike from the door, the other approached Kim's limp form. "A pity that she has no powers. She would have done well in the tournament."

"We will keep her in the depths until the master provides instruction."

"What about the Han?"

The guardsman snorted. "Didn't help her here."

* * *

"Bear versus Monkey!"

The deep voice that announced each match and taunted Ron to finish each opponent was beginning to grate on his nerves. He had won five matches so far, and the palace hallways were beginning to seem empty as the tournament progressed with combatants either being gruesomely defeated, or vanishing into nonexistence.

Each time Mantis had returned, smugly claiming how he had defeated his last opponent, Ron could only think of how he could have beaten Hego. So far as he knew, his friend had been near indestructible, and his defeat had planted a seed of fear in Ron.

He opened his eyes slowly at the feeling of wind in his hair to find he was standing on a stone slab that sat on a sandy mountainside with nothing but the requisite cloudy, bottomless valley below. There was no opponent before him, and he searched the rocky crevices with a confused look. "Well who's this Bear then?" he asked aloud, crossing his arms.

Suddenly, movement in the form of a large shadow loomed over him. Slowly, Ron turned around to see the familiar, black clad form of the sumo ninja glaring down at him from behind his mask. "Uh oh."

The Bear Ninja lifted Ron up by his gi and pulled him eye to eye. "I am strong like the mountain!" he shouted, hurling Ron effortlessly against the mountainside, resulting in a shower of rubble. Ron had summoned his Monkey aura a moment before he struck, and was now lying on the ground in a coughing fit. "I am swift like the wind!" the Ninja shouted, moving impossibly fast and bringing both fists down where Ron had been a moment before. Rock exploded from the newly formed crater and Ron covered his face as best as he could. Shaking his head, Ron climbed to his feet and charged forward, striking Bear with a double fisted punch that interrupted his "I am Vengeance!" speech.

For a moment, Ron let out a victorious laugh before Bear seemed to literally bounce off of the mountainside and came crashing back toward him, sending Ron sliding toward the edge of the cliff. As Bear regained his footing, Ron climbed back up to the rocky surface. "What was that all about?" he asked, trying to catch his breath. He looked up and gasped as Bear charged toward him with a growl. The Sumo Ninja began to glow a deep purple as the combatants collided in a dark blue ball of energy that sailed off of the side of the mountain.

The pair made a poor attempt at grappling each other as they tumbled down the mountainside, trading expletives as one trampled the other until they reached a ridiculously curved precipice that sent them sailing into the air. Ron kicked his legs out, pushing Bear toward the ground. The heavy set man crashed into a mesa, sending shattered rock in all directions, and Ron dived into the resulting dust cloud.

Climbing to a standing position in a single smooth motion, Bear set his stance and focused on his opponent as he descended. Ron's grin faded as he caught sight of the Sumo Ninja's gaze and he began to flail his arms in an attempt to stop himself. As he struck his target however, Bear's heavy frame shook and warped, bouncing Ron away to crash into a nearby rock face.

Ron coughed and sputtered, waving away the dust as he struggled to breath. He could feel the ground beneath him beginning to shake and he looked up to see the Sumo Ninja's silhouette charging toward him in the crowd. "Time to let loose." Ron said, leaping into a forward flip that brought him up over Bear's head.

Bear crashed into the rock wall that he had sent Monkey into earlier and the rock face crumbled around him. He could feel his mask and ninja Gi tear as he was buried and he pounded his fists into the ground, shattering the falling boulders into sand with the shock wave. His purple aura flared and brightened as he lifted himself to his full height, shaking the sand from his shoulders, brown top-knot hair and pale skin. Ron stared as Bear turned around to face him.

"Dude... You're not even Japanese!" It was true. With the exception of a tanned area around his squinted eyes where his mask neglected to cover, the large man before him was pale with long hair and stubble on his chin; probably no older than Ron himself. Parts of a massive blue shirt with a Z-Boy logo on the chest could be seen peeking through his torn gi, and he glared back at Ron with vengeance in his gaze.

"Of course not!" Bear exclaimed, trudging slowly forward. "I'm Yohan Boxer, and I was with you at Middleton High." he said, and Ron's eyes widened with faint recognition for a moment."

Ron gasped. "You... you're... Uh, I'm really not recognizing the name."

"I was the one that was supposed to go to Yamanouchi! Not you! I spent my entire life studying Japanese culture! I watched all the anime, played all the video games, ate all the sushi..."

"Can't argue with you there."

"By the end of that year, I had used my winnings from my Space Craft Champion Title to transfer to Japan on my own. Eventually I was approached by a master of Bear style Kung Fu and was recruited into the Wiang Kaen Po Ninja Clan." he continued to explain, glaring down into Ron's somewhat confused eyes. "Imagine my surprise when my first mission is to stop Kim Possible from rescuing Mr. Nakasumi and found you there as well. That atomic wedgie still cracks my voice from time to time!"

"Yeeeeeah... Sorry about that, dude."

Yohan lifted Ron by his shirt and looked him in the eye. "It wasn't long after I escaped Buenos Nachos Headquarters that my master introduced me to the Power of the Bear!"

"Well then I guess I've got a few years on you with the whole mystical power thing." came Ron's voice from outside the diminishing dust cloud.

Yohan looked around in confusion, then back at Ron's grinning face in his hands. With a shout of rage, the Bear Ninja clenched his hands tight and the image of Ron faded into a glimmer of light and a single blonde hair that fell to the ground. "What... how?"

Ron stepped into sight, as well as a number of other doubles that were now surrounding Yohan. Each of them were rubbing a spot on the back of their necks where he had pulled a tuft of hair. "Like I said, I've got a few more years of mystical experience on you." he smiled. Each copy of Ron settled into a different Tai Sheng Pek Kwar stance, ready to attack. "Let's see what you've got."


	7. Chapter Six

Kim fluttered her eyes against a bright, natural light and sucked in a struggled breath of air. There were cheers and laughter in the background and she lifted her head slightly to take in her surroundings. There didn't seem to be anyone paying attention to her, although there were a number of large muscled men and women watching what appeared to be some sort of hologram. Within the three dimensional image was a very obese man with a top knot fighting a handful of other men only a fraction of his size.

She struggled a little and found she was bound to a chair around the chest and waist. In an attempt to move her limbs, she found her wrists were bound together, and her ankles were tied to the chair legs as well.

"Well, well... The little girl is done her beauty sleep." said one of the fighters that noticed her movement.

"I'd consider it more of a power nap." she replied, glaring angrily at the leader. The other spectators turned toward her and followed the first man. There were nearly twenty of them, and they all looked like experienced fighters. "Mind telling me where I am?"

One of the female fighters frowned slightly. "You're in the Depths. Where people who give up go to not exist anymore."

"Essentially anyone that's gone up against the Monkey." said another fighter.

"The Monkey?" Kim asked, suddenly hopeful. A woman in a crisp Russian military uniform pointed at the image and Kim suddenly recognized her fiancé battling the hulk of a ninja. "Ron!"

"Whoa, girlie." the lead fighter said, standing imposingly in front of her. "You don't have any powers here. The Master has already taken them. You no longer exist!"

"What powers?" Kim asked with a grin. With enough power to break the spindles on her chairs legs, she lifted her legs between the lead fighter's and spread them, causing the man before her to perform a surprised split, then kicked forward again with her feet, planting both of her boots in his chest and sending him sprawling backward into the crowd. Her kick had sent her chair sliding back a few feet and she caught herself from tipping over backward. "Now let me tell you how this is going to play out."

As the self appointed leader struggled to his feet despite weak knees and a highly diminished ability to breath, Kim crossed one leg over the other in a calm and casual posture despite her obvious predicament. "First..." she began, gesturing to the fighter closest to her. "You're going to help me out of this chair. Then you..." she continued, gesturing to an angry looking, bald, heavily tattooed woman to her left. "Are going to help me defeat the rest of these goons. While step three is a little fuzzy at this point, I can assure you that step four will see me dancing my way out of this room."

The fighters gave each other quizzical glances before a confident chuckle quietly made its way through the room. "Let's see what you've got, little girl." said the closest warrior as he approached.

"Suit yourself." she said. Reaching out with her legs, she hooked one foot behind his knee and kicked his legs out from under him with the other. The moment he was on the floor, Kim performed a forward flip that broke the chair over her target's chest. She then rolled to the side as the inked, bald woman brought her foot down where Kim's head had just been, resulting in an audible cracking of the prone man's ribs.

Tucking up her legs, Kim reached her bound hands down as she rolled, maneuvering them forward to more easily defend herself. Planting her hands, she kicked out with her powerful legs, knocking back two more attackers before she leaped to her feet and calmly settled into a defensive posture.

"Ditangquan." she said with a confident smile.

The bald, inked woman growled and surged forward, obviously eager to break bones. Kim batted her long reached strike aside with one hand, then caught the woman across the neck with her other arm, knocking her to the floor. Kim crouched as a number of other attackers approached and she grabbed the tattooed woman by her belt buckle and shirt collar, tossing her forward and into the legs of her attackers. Three more fighters that managed to leap over the woman formed a coordinated series of kicking strikes toward her face. Kim dodged to and fro, grappling one man's extended leg and kicking her heel into his knee, causing him to cry out in pain. As he dropped, Kim spun and moved forward, getting past the other two combatant's reach and she pushed her back into him, flinging her head back to break his nose. She ducked forward to allow the fighter to kick the now nearly blinded warrior at her back in the head and she swept her attacker off of his feet.

Leaping from her crouched position, she back flipped up onto a set of web strewn stone steps, clenching her fists in a classic Bruce Lee pose and meeting the eyes of her room of opponents. "Jeet Kune Do." she grinned. With three fighters on the floor, and several more struggling to climb to their feet, the crowd began to spread out in an attempt to attack from several angles.

"Chuo Jiao"

"Duan Quan"

"Shequan"

"Yau Kung Mun"

"Yiquan"

"Bajiquan"

"Lung Ying"

"Mian Quan"

"Chow Gar"

"Tongbeiquan"

"Tantui"

"Yau Kung Mun"

"Yingzhaoquan"

"Zi Ran Men"

Kim's successive change from Kung Fu style to Kung Fu style kept every opponent off balance, and her nonchalant and feigned arrogant demeanor caused them to become angry and make blatant mistakes. It was almost like they really had no knowledge of martial arts at all, and Kim wondered why they were all even here. "And the newest addition..." Kim stated, seemingly drunk with weariness. "Tai Sheng Pek Kwar."

The remaining combatant was sweating and looking fearful in amongst his partially conscious compatriots. He came at her with a number of swings, quick jabs, and high kicks that Kim evaded, randomly moving to either side and lazily blocking each attack at as though she were exhausted and nearly asleep herself if it wasn't for the arrogant smile that only served to frustrate her adversary. Finally, Kim was backed against a wall and the last fighter struck out with both fists, but Kim raised her forearms and split the man's attack around her, forcing his hands into the brick wall on either side of her with the sound of crunching bones. Instead of a scream of agony, he fainted, and Kim pushed him away from her, watching him land in a crumple with the rest of his friends.

Making a quick scan of the room to make sure there were no more attackers before she showed any weakness, Kim let her shoulders slump as her adrenaline ran its course. She needed a way out, and she weakly raised her arm to look at the 'key' that Hannah had given her.

"You're Kim Poss..." said a thickly accented voice from the shadows.

Before the woman could continue speaking, Kim performed a midair cartwheel that ended with her fist nearly touching the Russian woman's chin.

"I'm not with them." Viper said quickly, gesturing to the groaning mound of combatants surrounding them. "But if you want to save the Monkey in his final battle, you're going to need help."

"Final battle?" Kim asked, lowering her fist.

"I have no doubt that he will defeat Bear, but Mantis is a far more vicious and powerful opponent. He knows the rules of the tournament and he seeks to win at all costs."

Kim surveyed the fallen opponents at her feet. "Sorry to say, but your friends here wouldn't have stood a chance against Ron's Monkey Powers."

"You don't understand. While we are here, we do not have the powers that once made us equals with your friend. They were gifted to us and we relied on them. Without our powers, we are no more Kung Fu masters than any movie star." Viper explained.

"So what are these rules of the tournament? How do I get out of here?" Kim asked, growing impatient.

"Mantis slays his opponents because the legend of the Tournament states that surrender makes the Champion more powerful. The people you see here, myself included, surrendered to Monkey and our powers were taken, to be used by the Champion in the final battle. As for how you escape from here, the answer is on your wrist."

Kim looked down at the combination of crystals that was wrapped around her wrist. Hana's key. She looked up at Viper, the outline of an improvised plan beginning to form in her mind. "What happens if the rules are broken?" she asked, a grin pulling at the side of her lips.


	8. Chapter Seven

"Whau!" one of the mystical Ron clones shouted as he was tossed away from Yohan, fizzling out of existence in a shower of blue sparks, becoming nothing more than a strand of blonde hair that floated peacefully to the rocky ground. There were only a trio of Ron's mystical clones left, and Yohan was visibly beginning to tire. The expansive mountain base that they were battling in was now pockmarked and cracked where each combatant had used the elements in an effort to defeat the other.

"Y'know, Yohan..." one of the Rons said, trying to cover the massive man's vision by holding onto his face. The sumo ninja gripped him with one huge hand, tossed him to the ground, and stomped on him. The resulting explosion of blue-white sparks filled the new crater before wisping away.

"You should just give up." said the next Ron clone without skipping a beat, as he wrapped his arms around Yohan's legs, trying to throw the large man off balance.

"Enough!" Yohan shouted, ignoring the irritating clone on his leg. As Ron himself began charging toward him with what would undoubtedly be a finishing move, the Bear let out a mighty roar and drew his arms back. Energy began to gather in his hands as he drew them together in a clap that exploded the air between them. The mystical Ron clone at his feet was instantly vaporized, as was most of his ninja uniform. Ron was stopped dead in his tracks and he clenched his jaw, trying to advance against the massive shockwave before being thrown back against the mountain wall.

Ron struggled to get to his feet as the sun was blocked out by Yohan's form. The few steps toward Ron seemed to nearly tire the massive man out and the pair stood only a few feet apart, breathing heavily and glaring. "Just... just give up, Bear. You've had... enough."

"Me?" Yohan replied between breaths as he took a medicinal puffer from his ninja outfit and took a deep breath from it before returning it to his robe. "I'm just getting... started. All I need to do is fall forward. And you'll... you'll be done."

"You can't catch a monkey, dude." Ron said, trying to stand straight, but nearly falling to his knees.

"Are you two done?"

The woman's voice came unexpectedly, but neither warrior had the energy for anything more than a slow, jaded look to the side where Kim Possible and over a dozen former combatants were standing up on a rocky outcropping, arms folded. Ron couldn't bring himself to smile though, struck with the belief that he was finally dead and angels looked just how he had always believed they would. With flowing red hair, green eyes, and wearing a purple unitard with hip hugging black cargo pants.

Kim carefully dropped down to the level that Ron and Yohan had been battling on and walked toward her blonde fiancé, planting a grateful and passionate kiss on his bloody and bruised face. "Thank you for being alive." she whispered.

"Kim?" Ron finally said, his strength finally draining from his legs and arms. He felt like a sack of wet cement in her arms, but she kept him from dropping to the ground, holding his head against her chest and kissing the top of his head. "How?"

"Han's crystals are a key to this place. I'm not sure how or why, but it's been letting me teleport all over this place looking for you."

"But those people with you. They... died. They gave up."

Kim shook her head. "Apparently if you give up, your powers go to whoever the champion is. They've all been stuck in a dungeon at the bottom of this place."

Ron frowned and seemed to be ready to cry. "But Sensei..."

"Told you what you needed to get here. He probably knew if you could quit without dying, you would." Kim said, an awkward smile forming on her lips.

"I wouldn't... Okay, yeah I would've." he replied, matching the smile. "But now what?"

The air became frighteningly still and hot as three shadows and yet another voice spoke up. "Now... you die, Monkey."

The crowd turned to see two giant figures; the pair of pikemen that Kim had fought earlier, standing on either side of a muscular man in green chitinous armor. "Mantis." Ron said in a voice that Kim hadn't heard since he had first faced off against the Lorwardian Warhok.

"Who?" Kim asked. While his 'totem' was obvious, the feared hush that came over her entourage and the aura of rage that was emanating from her fiancé put her on edge.

"It would appear that Mantis has become the Champion's chosen." said Viper. "Odd, considering you've been keeping mystical abilities away from him."

Kim raised her eyebrows. "You mean..."

"He killed Hego." Ron's bloodthirsty tone sent a cold shiver down Kim's spine and she reflexively let go of him and backed away a step.

"Hego? But... How?" Kim asked, recalling seeing the self proclaimed leader of Team Go in action. So far as she could tell, the man had been nigh invulnerable. Even she herself had buried his face in a concrete wall when Team Go had been turned evil by Electronique's Personality Reverser. Even when she had accidentally received his Team Go glow, she had barely felt any attacks and was able to dig her way through solid stone.

Mantis's scowl never wavered. "You'll find out." he said, pointing a finger at Ron. "But first, you're mine." Then gesturing to the pikemen, he added, "Make certain that we're not interrupted."

Ron stood straight again, but Kim could tell that he was struggling. His knees wobbled, his breathing was labored, and his stature was one she had seen many times growing up on their adventures. He was tired and in agony, but trying to hide it in an attempt to follow along.

"Bring it." Ron growled, shakily settling into a defensive Tae Sheng Pek Kwar stance.

Kim looked from Mantis; who still did not appear to have the maniacal grin that she had grown used to in a villain, to Ron, who was reconjuring his mystical aura and readying himself for a fight. Not interested in fighting on anyone else's terms, she rushed toward Mantis, but was interrupted by a massive bladed swipe at waist level from one of the pikemen. Immediately, she fell to her knees and slid beneath the attack, feeling the stony floor tear at her legs despite her kevlar flares. The blade nicked her cheek and took several auburn strands of hair as she passed underneath, then bits of stone spattered her chest and face as the second pikeman brought it's weapon down in front of her and blocked her path.

"You are not permitted to interfere!" the pikemen shouted as Kim backflipped out of their reach and toward the group of fighters she had rescued from the dungeon. With the pair of pikemen blocking her path, Kim watched as Ron and Mantis faced off, desperately trying to formulate a plan.

Disturbing the quiet duel however, was a clap of intense thunder as Yohan stepped between the pair in a classic sumo pose. "I am strong like the mountain!"

Mantis ducked, letting out an irritated growl as the thunderclap tossed him to the side. While Mantis managed to recover in mid air and land on his feet, Yohan pressed his attack. The ground shook and the stone rippled with each step.

"I am swift like the wind!" Yohan shouted again, his voice cracking mid sentence. Mantis barely had time to tumble out of the way as the Bear warrior launched him self into a belly flop that left a crater in the stone. "I AM..."

Mantis rolled to his feet and his eyes blazed a sickening green. He held out his arms as his green glowing aura seemed to fade into a mist, transforming into the ghostly form of a giant praying mantis that materialized behind Yohan. Before the sumo ninja could react, Mantis grappled each of his arms, using the ghostly insect like a puppet to string Yohan up.

"NO!" Ron shouted as Yohan strained against his limbs being stretched apart. He threw himself against Mantis, knocking him to the ground. Straddling the armored warrior, Ron began to wail his fists against him like an ape, tears running down his cheeks. After several moments of pummeling Mantis, Yohan fell to his knees as the ghostly mantis faded away. Ron smiled between gulping breaths and raised his arms. "I'm winning!"

"Hardly." Suddenly, Mantis' green aura erupted again, and the battered man pelted Ron to the side before clambering to his feet.

Kim twisted to the side and leaned back as one polearm swept over her head, then lifted her legs as the other cut the air beneath her. She fell to her back, then sprung back to her feet as both weapons came crashing down into the stone. Backflipping onto the shaft of one of the pikes, she let herself be lifted into the air and slid down to place a boot in the pikeman's helmeted face.

Out of frustration, the other pikeman swung his weapon in a wide arc, narrowly missing Kim as she dropped out of the way and the wide blade sliced cleanly through the neck of its partner.

As a yellow blur evaporated from the now hollow suit of armor, Kim landed on the ground and lifted the dropped polearm, bracing the blunt end into a rocky cranny, aiming the blade at her remaining foe's torso. The pikeman lifted his weapon over his head with a battlecry, but surged forward from the combined force of the various escapees that Kim had arrived with. With the sound of metal puncturing metal, the pikeman slid halfway down Kim's pike, and gasped as another yellow blur wisped its way out of the massive suit.

Kim pushed her former adversaries to the side and turned to where Ron and Mantis were circling, blowing a lock of sweat drenched hair away from her face. "Enough, Mantis! You're out numbered!"

Mantis circled once more until he was facing the entire crowd. "You people don't understand!"

"We understand that you're killing people!" Ron shouted back. "Like Hego!"

"It's a mystical deathmatch, you moron! Everyone that has taken on their totem knew that!"

"I didn't. I got mine by neccessity. To save my life when Monkey Fist got his."

"Hego got his by accident. From a comet. He didn't even have animal powers or whatever!" Kim added.

Mantis seemed uncharacteristically shaken. "You lie!"

"They do not." rang the now familiar booming voice of the announcer. A flicker of gold light and smoke appeared in the air, revealing a man dressed in the black robes of a traditional ninja, sitting in a lotus position. Although his face was masked and his suit covered any identifying marks that may have been on his body, his bare feet and hands caused Kim and Ron to gasp. His toes were elongated and were as hairy as his hands, that of a monkey.

"Can't be." Kim and Ron said in unison.

Monkey Fist removed his hood and mask, revealing his darkened, blood shot eyes and large, protruding ears. "But of course it can be. You didn't really think that my astral form was trapped in that statue, did you? I would go insane!" he said, his distinctive monkey laugh echoing through the mountains before settling enough that he could continue. "I walk the path of the Yono. It just so happens that path is of the Champion of this plane of existence."

Kim didn't hesitate to lift her arms, ready for another battle. "We've beat you before. We can do it again."

Monkey Fist smiled politely, waving away the notion with a hand. "So you have! While I am a tad surprised at your presence here, cheerleader, you should know that in addition to my formidable skills as a Tai Sheng Pek Kwar master, my powers are now also the combination of the totems that your buffoonish companion refused to do away with." he continued, brushing his fingernails on his robe. "Such as the Viper."

Conjuring a greenish red aura around himself, Monkey Fist vanished and reappeared in front of Kim, lifting her by the throat with one hairy hand. The attack took her completely by surprise, and she began to choke instantly, clutching his wrist in he hands and trying to escape. With pure evil in his eyes, Monkey Fist turned to Ron. "Surrender your power, boy; or you'll never see your precious cheerleader alive again!"


	9. Chapter Eight

"No!" Ron shouted, and he didn't hesitate. Renewed with adrenaline, his aura flared up like a star, separating Monkey Fist from Kim, and pushing the crowd away in a sphere that swept the stone he stood on clean. He rushed forward, leaping up and stepping off of a stone outcropping to bring a balled fist down on Monkey Fist. But the villain vanished and reappeared a few feet back from where Ron landed, grinning, and surging forward in a flurry of strikes and kicks that Ron was struggling to parry. Moving like a blur, Monkey Fist dodged Ron's strike and put a knee into Ron's midsection before grabbing his gi with a foot and tossing him to the side.

Ron spun backward in mid air, slowing his momentum as he landed on his back and slid to a stop on the stone. But Monkey Fist didn't let up. Using the power of the Crane, he leapt high, nearly out of sight before descending again. Ron's eyes opened wide and he threw himself out of the way as Monkey Fist's knee crashed into the mountain surface, sending stone spraying in all directions.

Again Ron leaped forward, each strike and parry sounding like thunder in the crisp mountain air. Monkey Fist's aura took on a multi hued color and he reached out for Ron's throat with taloned fingers. Instinctively, Ron pushed his arm aside, but shouted out in surprise as his opponent suddenly changed styles and grappled his wrist, turning Ron's momentum on itself and forcing his chest to the ground. Monkey Fist let out a mocking laugh, tossing his shaggy hair out of his eyes and breathing heavily. He leaned in close to Ron's ear. "Don't worry, Ron Stoppable. Once you're gone and your dear girlfriend is trapped here for eternity, she will make a most useful slave. Once her spirit is broken at least. Which I imagine will occur shortly."

Ron frowned, ready to give up and cry after the last few days of fighting for his life. But as Kim stared back at him, one word from Monkey Fist's dour speech captured his attention. "Fiancé." was all he could muster to say.

Monkey Fist's grin grew. "Ah! So you neglected to heed the words that I was forced to deliver all those months ago, did you? Bravo. Truly."

The horror on Ron's face showed him what he wanted to know.

"No, young Stoppable. It wasn't a dream. I, personally opened the gateway to your past, present, and future. The Yono is always. Everlasting."

"Not anymore!" Ron shouted in reply, summoning all of his power to him. The ground shook and cracked and he pushed himself away from the ground as though physics no longer mattered. He slammed backward into a cliff, causing Monkey Fist to gasp in pain. When the man had released his wrist, Ron rolled forward, spun, and returned with a flying kick that Monkey Fist batted to the side in annoyance. He backflipped away, and up onto the cliff and Monkey Fist joined him, slamming a fist into Ron's chest as he landed.

Ron sailed backward into a craggy stone wall and Monkey Fist charged at him. Striking the wall, Ron staggered for a moment before leaping high over Monkey Fist's head to land behind him. But Monkey Fist was faster, and planted a foot-paw into Ron's chest, knocking him back onto the lower level where the other warriors watched nervously. Monkey Fist's laugh echoed through the mountain range as he leaped, bringing both of his fists down onto Ron.

The resulting shockwave as Ron put out his hands to block Monkey Fist's strike again cleaned the shale off the mountain side, and blew back most of the spectators, forcing them to cling to the various formations to avoid being tossed off the mountain-scape. Kim had been ready for it this time however, and had found her breath after Monkey Fist had nearly crushed her wind pipe. With an angry yell, she ran toward the pair, putting her shoulder into Monkey Fist's chest and knocking him away from Ron. She lifted her head and caught Monkey Fist's jaw, knocking the villain senseless for a moment before he calmly grabbed her wrists and grinned.

Before he could speak however, the jeweled bracelet on Kim's wrist began to gleam. While neither of them knew what was about to happen, Kim flashed a lopsided smile at Monkey Fist's surprised look. Suddenly, the blue, yellow, and red gems exploded in light and Monkey Fist's myriad of auras seemed to implode, and were forcibly dragged out through his eyes and mouth in a horrifyingly wicked scream of agony.

The light lasted only a few seconds, and when it was finished, Monkey Fist stumbled backward, looking down at his monkey paws in confusion. "No! My mystical abilities! My Monkey Powers! You took them all!" he raged. "You will pay for this, Kim Possible!"

Monkey Fist charged at her, more engulfed in rage than she had ever seen him, and she prepared herself for his attack. Ron laid at her feet still, and rolled over and took hold of her ankle. His mystical blue aura instantly engulfed her and Kim's eyes turned dark in contrast to her pale blue skin and now purplish hair. She grinned.

The resulting wispy blue, double fisted strike that Kim planted into Monkey Fist's midsection sent him flying from the edge of the mountain and into to foggy expanse below.

The Monkey aura was a tingling warmth that Kim didn't want to end and she turned to hug Ron, helping him to stand before embracing him in a joyful, open mouthed kiss that nearly dropped him back to his knees. "Erm, Kim... We have... an audience." Ron mumbled.

Yohan cleared his throat, and the pair reluctantly broke up their embrace. "Well done. But what about him?" the massive ninja asked, standing high above the crowd of other combatants. He was pointing at Mantis, who was sitting with his back against a stone wall. The grizzled and harried man seemed to be sobbing, defeated and apparently considering his recent actions.

"How could you... how could anyone... he had so much power..." the man rambled, holding his head in his hands.

"He killed Hego, Kim." Ron said quietly. Hego, for all his cliché super heroics, had been their friend.

Kim let Ron's hand slip from hers, feeling his aura fade from her in a wisp. "I know. But I think there's been enough death for awhile." she said soberly, approaching the man. "You need to pay for what you've done, you know."

Mantis was both nodding and shaking his head, mumbling. Kim knelt down in front of him. He had been trained his whole life to use his powers for this tournament, never even considering that there could be another way. It was quite likely where Ron would be now without people that believed in him and his good nature. Without Sensei, Yori, Hana. Without her.

Cautiously, she reached out to touch his shoulder and once again, the crystals on her wrist began to glow. But instead of violently ripping the mystical mantis powers from him, they were freely given, coming from his eyes and mouth in a gentle haze that was absorbed into the bracelet. "Come on."

Kim helped the man to his feet, looking up at the growing reluctant compassion in the eyes of her companions, only to see a red robed elderly man standing in the blowing breeze on the next plateau above them. "Sensei?" she called, diverting everyone's attention.

"Well done, Kim Possible. I am glad that you and Stoppable-san have triumphed here today."

Kim looked over at Ron with a relieved smile. "So are we."


	10. Epilogue

Kim smiled at Ron, fixing his tie and flattening his lapels. "You know you don't have to be here for this." Ron said, taking a nervous breath. He was once again moments from his 'first' board meeting for his company, and still had no idea what he was doing.

"Are you kidding? Last time I left you alone, you were kidnapped, forced to battle super ninjas, and freed an astral plane of Monkey Fist's tyranny. You honestly think I'm going to miss out on that again?"

"They're ready for you, Mr. Stoppable. Again." Kalea announced, poking her head into the room.

"Just a few minutes, Kalea!" Kim replied, and the door closed again. She still hadn't completely decided if she liked this secretary of Ron's. She was certainly older, with dark skin and hair, and an aura of confidence that Kim knew came from a career in the the shark infested corporate world. "All the no longer mystical fighters and Yohan are being trained at Yamanouchi, Mantis is in prison therapy, and the Yono is defeated." she said. "How does it feel to save the world again?"

"Now that it's done? Good." Ron admitted. "I don't think I want to go through that again though."

"I think you deserve a break, hero." she grinned, taking his face in her hands and tickling his lips with hers for a moment before pulling away again. "I haven't heard back from Wade yet if he managed to get in contact with Drakken. I know Shego wasn't fond of her family, but I figured she would still want to know about Hego."

"How'd the rest of Team Go take it?" Ron asked, suddenly sober.

"Wego was understandably shocked, though Mego is dealing with it in his own way. Last I heard, he was writing a book about HIS experiences under Hego's leadership."

"Hey, speaking of books..." Ron said, eager to change the subject. "Have you heard anything about a book I may have mysteriously written?"

"You?" Kim snorted. "Sorry, Ron. But you had a hard time in English class, never mind writing a book."

At first, Ron was going to argue, but then shrugged and conceded the point. "Ready?"

"Re..."

'Beep beep beepbeep'

Kim dug into her purse to pull out her Kimmunicator. "What's the sitch, Wade?" she asked, mentally considering how long it's been since she said it.

Wade appeared on the Kimmunicator screen, breathing heavily as he ran. The background was unrecognizable, but Joss's voice could be heard struggling in the distance. "Just got a hit on the site about the Seniors and Joss and I are kinda busy with Killigan. Can you guys cover it?"

Kim and Ron looked at each other, grins growing to match the other.

"Mr. Stoppable?" Kalea asked again, open the door to find an empty room and a scribbled note in large, child-like writing on the table. 'Off to save the world. Please take care of stuff.'

Kalea sighed. "This is going to be a regular thing, isn't it?"


End file.
